Choose cheaper desktop computer: DIY versus branded - part 2

In the last article, I have reviewed whether it's worth the hassle to build your own desktop pc. This time, I will take a look at what the famous brand - HP- offer to us with their latest promotion, "Kungfu Panda" desktop series :P. The desktop pc I will use for comparison here is HP Pavilion M9222 with the following specifications :

1. Processor : AMD Quad-Core Phenom™ X4 9500 (2.2 GHz, FSB 2200, Cache 4x 512 KB)
2. Motherboard : Unknown with chipset nForce 430
3. Memory : Standard 2x1 PC 6400 DDR2
   
4. Vga Card : NVidia GeForce 8500GT 256 MB
5. Audio : onboard 7.1 channel
6. Harddisk : 320 GB Serial ATA-II/300, 7200 RPM, Cache 8 MB
7. Keyboard : HP PS/2 Standard Keyboard
8. Mouse : HP Optical Scroll Mouse
   
9. Card Reader : 15 in 1 Media Reader
10. Operating System : Microsoft* Windows Vista Home Premium
11. Monitor : HP 19" LCD
12. Chassis : Mini Tower ATX
    

HP bundled printer HP F2180 with this desktop pc and gives price tag at $1185. Now, we will see if this promo is worth to be called as promo or not :P. Let's summon peripherals for our desktop pc then....

Tadaaa, the specifications is as follows:

1. Processor : AMD Quad-Core Phenom™ X4 9550 - $194
2. Motherboard : Asus M2N (chipset nForce 430) - $66
3. Memory : Corsair Twin 2x2048 - PC6400 - $58
4. Vga Card : Asus 8500 GT 2500 MB silent - $91
5. Audio : onboard - none
6. Harddisk : Seagate 320 GB SATA II - $77
7. Keyboard : Logitech KB Multimedia - $19
8. Mouse : Logitech Optical black (bundled with keyboard)
9. Card Reader : 15 in 1 Media Reader - $15
10. Operating System : Microsoft* Windows Vista Home Premium - $115
11. Monitor : Samsung 19" 940BW - $270
12. Chassis : CoolerMaster Centurion C5 tower - $78
13. Printer : HP F2180 - $74

We will spend total amount of $1057 for all peripheral above. Again it's proven that we can save more money if we put some effort for building our own desktop pc ;). Even with promotion price, branded pc is still more expensive -> the difference in $128 is not a little sum of money for most people in Indonesia, include me :P.

Choose cheaper desktop computer: DIY versus branded

In this article, I will try to compare the cost required for building a DIY desktop pc versus buying the branded pc. The branded pc used for comparison is HP Compaq DX2300MT which does not bundled with monitor. DX2300MT is priced at $559 (price is taken from www.bhinneka.com) and has the following specification :

1. Processor : Pentium Dual Core E2160
2. Motherboard : OEM with P946GZ intel chipset
3. Storage : SATA HDD 80 GB
4. Front panel : card reader, esata
5. Memory : 1 GB DDR2
6. Optical Drive : DVD/CDRW Combo
7. Operating System : Windows XP Pro oem
8. Chassis Form Factor : MicroATX
9. Keyboard and mouse : HP standard

Now lets count the all the components' price. Would it worth it to buy branded desktop pc instead of build your own and save $$$? Let's find out then and let the cheaper win!

After googling and seacrhing a while for all components used in HP Compaq DX2300MT, the result is listed below :

1. Processor : Pentium Dual Core E2160 -> $63
2. Motherboard : OEM with P946GZ intel chipset (use Asus P5B-MX)-> $81
3. Storage : SATA HDD 80 GB -> $42
4. Front panel : card reader, esata -> $15
5. Memory : 1 GB DDR2 -> $25
6. Optical Drive : DVD/CDRW Combo -> $32
7. Operating System : Windows XP Pro oem -> $135
8. Chassis Form Factor : MicroATX (used SimCool ATX 450W) -> $48
9. Keyboard and mouse : HP standard (used logitech multimedia) -> $18

All are totalled $459! The difference is $559 - $459 = $100. With that amount of money, you can buy a decent printer or speaker or both! How about additional Canon ip1880 ($48) and Divoom Titan 767 ($35)? And even after buying those two, you will still have money left ($17) for covering transportation cost :P.

The conclusion is straighforward. Let's spend a few extra hours for making our own desktop pcs instead of buying from branded if price is always be a concern for you :).

Current top line of Altec Lansing Computer Speaker...

Just like Klipsch, Altec Lansing had being been famous in the home theater speaker systems first before they entered the computer speaker market. Later on, Altec Lansing is ultimately known as well-known computer speaker vendor because of their build quality and sound quality. Altec Lansing is close to Klipsch in terms of sound quality, but slightly cheaper at that time. So in this case, design is the determine factor for most people for choosing one. Besides for people who are willing to spend more than $250 for computer speaker, the difference of $10-$20 would not be a major factor anyway ;).


FX-6021 is the latest and the current top line of speaker Altec has right now. It features an unique design by introducing 12 microdrivers, 6 on each satellite. While the subwoofer design is minimal, it complement the satellite perfectly. Altec also include a wired remote controller for this speaker system. Just take a glance at this speaker and we easily become interested for its design. But how about the sound quality? Just take a look at the specification below first ;)

SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS :
Altec Lansing’s superior sound comes from our proprietary technology, which utilizes custom-built, high-fidelity drivers, state-of-the-art equalization circuitry, and a harmonious mix of the following specifications:

• Sound pressure level (SPL): 105 dB
• Total continuous power: 75 Watts RMS
• Front Speakers: 12.5 Watts/channel @ 4 ohms @ 10% THD @ 180 - 15000 Hz 2 Channels Loaded
• Subwoofer: 50 Watts @ 4 ohms @ 10% THD @40 – 180 Hz Single Channel Loaded
• System response: 32 Hz – 18 kHz (-10dB)
  
• Signal to Noise Ration @ 1 Khz input: > 75 dB
• Drivers (per satellite) : Six 1" fullrange Micro Drivers
• Subwoofer driver:One 6.5" long-throw woofer
  

The subwoofer can only go as low as 40 Hz which is not too bad anyway as this is only 6.5" subwoofer. The configuration of 6 microdrivers will make FX6021 emphasizes high frequency and slightly lower mid frequency. Even the sound pressure level is stated at 105 db, I don't think there is anyone who wants to play it that loud. Our neighbor must yell at us before we can reach that volume....

In my opinion, this is a good speaker system. Excellent design with absolutely famous Altec Lansing sound quality in mind will certainly makes this speaker find its way into its lover ;).

High-End Computer Speaker for HTPC..

Nowadays, computer is more than office tool. Because of advanced technology, computer can now be used as home theater replacement or also known as HTPC (Home Theater PC). In order to build a HTPC, you'll need to fulfill several requirements by choosing the right components as follow :

• VGA Card that has hardware acceleration for decoding video compression (H-264, MPEG-2, etc)
  
• Processor with decent speed


• High-Quality soundcard which support multi-channel (5.1, 6.1, etc) playback


• A high-quality multi-channel speaker set


• A huge monitor or LCD TV for displaying the movie

This article will focus only on speaker. Why do I only discuss speaker? Because I believe speaker is the heart of HTPC. You cannot enjoy any movie if you cannot be immersed by the movie's sound effects. And the main device for giving you the right sound as wanted by movie producer is speaker because the quality of sound-card onboard nowadays has been very good. So in this article, I will try to show you 2 high-end computer speaker products with best price/performance that can be used in HTPC.

First candidate is Logitech Z5500. Let's see the speaker first from the image below :

I would not describe in details about Z5500 technical specifications because it would be too long and besides, there are a lot of reviews there you can easily find about :). I will just tell you what make me think this speaker does deserve to be in your living room.

Ok, first is 10" subwoofer. Well, it is the biggest subwoofer in this class and price range. So when you choose this one, you'll be sure of have an enough bass to shake your neighbors' wall :P. Just kidding. Logitech speaker is famous of its huge bass. Well, sometimes the bass is boomy but this can be tricked by placing them in the right spot and help from equalizer :). But with the big size of subwoofer, you'll be sure to know exactly what the explosion should sound in the war-action movie.

Second, Z5500 is equipped with hardware decoder in it. It's capable of decoding Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Prologic II signal. It also have 6 channel direct, StereoX2 and Stereo mode if you don't want to utilize the hardware decoder capability. This will add more benefit when you have, for example, a stereo sound card but you want to hear 5.1 Dolby Digital sound from your movie. Well, you can merely use passthrough mode of your sound card so the signal will be delivered as is to the speaker and then let the hardware decoder in speaker do its job.

Third, Z5500 offers wide range of compatibility mode. You can use this speaker for PC/Mac, CD, MP3, DVD, Playstation, Xbox and other gaming console. It's very nice to have such a versatile speaker that can be used for many devices you want to plug in. You will save room and money because you won't need to buy another speaker for every devices you have.

Overall, because of its configuration, Logitech Z5500 is most suitable for movie (THX certified) and gaming. It can also be used for listening to music, but for some genre music which need a pure-flat frequency response before it can sound enjoyable, you'll have to tweak the equalizer enormous times before you can find the right configuration...

Now the second candidate, Edifier S5.1. As usual, let's see the image of this speaker first ;)

Wow, now we see how the speaker should really look :). Edifier S5.1 is really elegant by having wood finishing instead of plastic/alumunium material usually used in computer speaker. The configuration is almost the same like logitech, i.e : 5.1 and have remote control. The main difference between this speaker and logitech's one is edifier S5.1 does not come with any hardware decoder in it. The other difference is the subwoofer in Edifier S5.1 is smaller than logitech Z5500 has (8" vs 10"). But it won't hinder this speaker to be in your living room as it has several remarkable characteristics as follow :

First, looks! In my opinion, this speaker shows us how the speaker should look. Simple and elegant. The choosing of wood as finishing material is brilliant as wood is also known as an excellent material for reproducing sound. It also have LCD display, but in this case the control center from logitech is far better :).

Second, tweeter! The satellite of edifier S5.1 are equipped with 3/4 inch cloth dome tweeter. This will ensure that you'll be able to hear high frequency sound like you often hear in classics music.

Third, price! What can I say? For a price below $300, you won't ask for more as this speaker currently is the best price/performance speaker set. But keep in mind that this speaker is most suitable for music. If you want to hear *boom* as *BOOM* then you'll have to tweak equalizer a little bit. Just make sure your sound card support equalizer or at least treble/bass configuration.

Overall, Edifier S5.1 is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to have a nice-looking speaker and listen a lot for music in their living room. The setup features smaller subwoofer than logitech, means that edifier's subwoofer won't be stand out as above its satellites. It will be balance instead.

If I have hot money to spend and should choose between these two beast, then I'll choose Edifier S5.1 as I like music more than watching movie ;)...